Some students don't even apply for scholarships because they think they it's too competitive and they won't win. These students may be completely qualified for the award, but they just assume they won't win so they don't even try.
6 reasons you should never assume a scholarship is too competitive:
1. If you're not applying because you think it's too competitive, how many other people are doing the same thing? The simple fact many students don't apply because they think they won't win means there may not be as many people applying as you think!
2. Some scholarships are not advertised well. If a scholarship is not well advertised, there is likely only a small pool of applicants who have found it, and probably an even smaller number of people who have applied for it…or perhaps no one has!
3. Some students apply but they don't complete the application properly, and they're disqualified. This happens more often than you think.
4. Scholarships that require an essay, especially a long one, tend to be less competitive because many students get intimidated or overwhelmed by writing an essay — perhaps they feel they're not a good writer, or they write it, but they don't finish it, or they don't submit it in time.
5. Community-based, employment, or regional scholarships, are less competitive than some awards because they require a person to live in a certain catchment area, or belong to a certain group or organization, so fewer people are eligible to apply.
6. Scholarships with a smaller value are often less competitive because some students can't be bothered doing the work for a small amount of money.
While it's true some scholarships are competitive, many others may not be. Remember these six reasons before you assume you'll never win!
Janet MacDonald is a Scholarship Coach at MycampusGPS. She teaches students how to prepare their best scholarship applications through one-to-one coaching and workshops. She also wrote the guide "How to Find Scholarships in Canada." Janet's blog is one of the top education blogs in Canada.
